Before They Were Ninja
by Nora Mutao Frost
Summary: The movie never explained how the Ninja met. So here is my series of One Shots that explain where they each came from.
1. Kai and Nya

_Authors Notes: This will be a series of one shots one ninja per one shot except Kai and Nya for obvious reasons._

* * *

 _Before They Were Ninja_

 _One Shot 1_

 _Kai and Nya_

Lloyd had always been alone, no matter what. That was no thanks to who is father was. He just couldn't make friends that stick. Birthday parties were just him and his mom. Dinner parties, Christmases, trips to the park were lonely. Parents just see him and instantly leave the area. So he would just sit down on the swing and stare at his feet. Lonely was what he knew, and he honestly figured thats what he would always be.

The autumn leaves swirled around his feet as he walked to school. The bus once again was early, probably on purpose to avoid him being on it. What could a six year old do anyways? Its not like it was him who did the was his lousy dad.

He walked across an area on the road that had been hit pretty bad in the last attack. He pulled his hood up over his head to hide his face from the shop owners who were undoubtedly talking about it.

"Hey isn't that his boy!" One yelled. Lloyd slowly looked to his right and saw that they were coming his way. They looked angry, this wasn't good. He never thought they'd get physical. He began to run. They gave chase.

Lloyd thought they'd be slow since they were a lot of old shop owners, but wow was he wrong. He dodged left and ran down an alleyway. He ran through the beat on a door trying to get inside.

"Help help!" He yelled. He hoped that a little six year old beating on a door would get a few people running to the rescue. Perhaps no one was home.

He gasped as someone grabbed him by the hoodie and threw him on the ground. Winded he tried to catch his breath. His hip felt like it was burning hot. He curled in on himself when someone grabbed his shirt and pulled him close.

"Your dad destroyed my photo studio for the seventh time this year. I can't afford to build again!" He yelled. "I'm bankrupt!" He yelled and punched Lloyd. He went reeling to the ground and tried to scurry away, he however hit someones legs. He looked up to see an old man glaring at him.

"My cars gone...again! Its how I make deliveries!" He yelled kicking at him. Soon enough he heard yelling from all around him. Yelling turned into kicking and hitting. He had things thrown at him.

"Hey!" Someones voice yelled. Lloyds mind felt like it was filled with Jell-o, and he couldn't breath to well either. His arm felt bad. He wanted so much to cry, but he wasn't sure where they cry switch was in his brain. He looked over his dislocated arm to see a boy with lots of hair gel. "What are you doing to that boy!" He yelled. His t-shirt was bright red, and his pants were black.

"Thats none of your business kid!"

"Its my business because this is my alley! This is my building!" He yelled and walked forward pushing an old man. The kid was pretty tall for his age. Their was a young girl peeking out of the door. Her hair was short and black, He couldn't see anything else on her.

"Kid go away!" Another man yelled. The boy grabbed a trash can and threw it at him.

"You get out of here old man!"

"Come on guys...before he gets his mommy to call the cops." The men spit and walked on back to his busted up street.

"Hey kid...you okay?" The red shirted boy walked over to Lloyd. "Hey?" He shook Lloyd. He had fallen unconscious from the skirmish.

"Kai is he okay?" The little girl walked out. She had a long black shirt with Unikitty on it. The shirt looked like it had came out of the dumpster. She had only one sock on.

"Nya come help me get him inside."

Lloyd had long since wished that his parents were normal, his mother pretended nothing ever happened, and his father is the reason why he wished they were normal.

Lloyd felt something soggy on his forehead. His jaw also felt like it had been kicked by a horse. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. It looked like an old warehouse, with lots of dust and old boxes. The boxes looked like they had been rummaged through several times and thrown around a lot. Their however was an old box, and bunny ear tv on a dresser, a coffee table, and he was laying on the couch. He looked around spotting two kids in the corner. One was the boy who rescued him. They both were dirty, and...eating his lunch. He honestly didn't mind actually. He didn't really feel like eating anyways. He slowly started to get up, only to feel his ribs complaining from the punishment.

"Whoa kid...don't move so fast. You got kicked around pretty bad." The kid named Kai walked over and put his hand on Lloyds forehead. "And you got a bad fever too. You might want to just sit still for a little while." Kai said and sat down on the coffee table.

"Where are we?" Lloyd asked.

"My place. Its not much, but well...its kinda what happens when you don't have any parents." Kai said. The little girl sitting on a blanket looked up at him a half eaten apple in her hand and her finger in her mouth.

"No parents?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah, but its not bad I work at a noodle shop cleaning dishes and that keeps us fed." He said. Lloyd swallowed hard, he didn't want to ask the question he was dreading.

"What...happened to your parents?"

"They went missing about a year ago in the village next to Ninjago city." He said. "We haven't seen them since, but Nya was only a year old when that happened. She's three now." Kai said.

"Nya?" Lloyd looked at the little girl who still had her finger in her mouth, she waved with said hand. Their was a drool like going from her finger to her mouth.

"Gross Nya." Kai said and wiped her mouth with his sleeve.

"You know I know someone that would take you in." Lloyd said and looked at them. Kai looked at him sternly.

"We aren't going to an orphanage!" He yelled hugging his sister. She clung to him.

"Its not an orphanage. Its my Uncles Monastery. He takes in people until they can take care of themselves. Did it to a kid named Morro not to long ago. He's in his twenties now. He's off to college, I see him sometimes in the library." Lloyd said and smiled at Nya. "Besides its cold out, and the rooms are much warmer. She doesn't need to catch a cold." Lloyd offered.

"Okay but...if I see that your lying I'll drop you harder then those old guys did." Kai asid.

Lloyd had hold of Nya's hand, and Kai had hold of her other hand, they walked up the stairs to the monatery. Their were more stairs then Lloyd remembered, but he promised, and this was the first time someone didn't shy away from him. He knocked on the door and waited. It took several knocks before he heard a shuffling. Once the doors opened and an old man with a hat stood there.

"Lloyd your mother is worried sick." He said looking at him and the bruises on his face. His arm was in a sling crafted from pieces of old shirt.

"I got beat up by a few people after dad attacked the city again. If it weren't for Kai and his sister Nya I probably would still be laying on the ground in that alleyway." Lloyd said. Master Wu looked at the state the children, Nya stood there shivering where she stood. Still in the old shirt that was probably her brothers, and one sock. Kai had two different pairs of shoes on.

"Come inside its to cold out here for children dressed like that." Wu said and motioned for them to go on inside and get warm.

"I'll go get some of Morros old cloths." Lloyd said and watched Wu warming up some water for their bath.

Soon enough they were bathed, clothed, and warmed. Rice was cooking in a pot not to far away from them. It made the whole room smell great.

"Now where are you two staying?" Wu asked.

"A warehouse."

"Do you own the warehouse?" Wu asked sipping his tea.

"No sir…" Kai said honestly. "We just stay there."

"Then if you and your sister agree to help me around this monastery I will allow you to stay here with me. I am old and can't do as I used to, especially when its so cold outside. My bones feel so old." Wu said.

"Yeah sugar coat everything Uncle Wu." Lloyd said with a smile on his face. He was hit on the head by Wu's staff.

"Hush…"

"Nya?" Kai asked. Nya yawned and put her head on his brothers lap. "I guess thats a yes."

"But you must go to school."

"What!" Kai yelled. Nya sat back up and looked around dreamily.

"You are Lloyds age aren't you? You should be in school."

"Fine...but who will take care of Nya?"

"I believe I can take care of her." Wu chuckled

"Fine!" Kai complained.


	2. Cole

**_Authors Notes: You might need a tissue for this one. Just saying._**

* * *

 ** _Before They Were Ninja_**

 ** _One Shot 2_**

 ** _Cole_**

Whispers. People would always whisper behind his back, after a little while said whispers stopped being whispers. Some people would just say it out loud hoping he'd hear. Specially the cheer squad and their lousy and rude chants. At least it got a little easier when Kai started school with him. At least he had one friend. But he didn't have all his classes with Kai. Only two. And that was mostly at the end of the day.

Lloyd would walk around the school with his hood up hoping to block out at least a few of those horrible words. His free period was just him sitting in the library with a book in front of him, or homework that still hadn't been done. He didn't to much like to read, but his reading teacher demanded it of him. He noticed he gave him far more homework then the other kids.

On this particular day he sat in the library as always. A book in front of him, pencil in hand, and his paper had barely been touched. He looked around the room again, just for a change of what he was looking at. Once again incredibly bored. He could of course just do this at home and go walk on the track. But he didn't have anyone to walk with. At least this was something that needed to get done...right?

He heard a piano off in the distance. That was unusual. The music teacher wasn't at school for at least two more weeks he guessed. He slowly packed his bag and looked around the room to make sure the librarian wasn't paying attention. She was over near the audio lab helping a few of the younger students. He slowly walked out of the room and braised the door so it didn't slam shut.

Lloyd walked down the hallway and looked into a few classrooms. The music room was also empty, but he still heard the piano. He looked in the gym seeing a bunch of kids running around doing some free play. No piano, he finally ran by a room the was the dance studio. He peeked in to see a boy sitting on a piano stool. His tiny fingers raced over the keys. He knew this boy from a few of his other classes. This was the boy named Cole. Although he was quiet and kept to himself mostly. Always had a pair of headphones on while he worked so if anyone needed to talk to him they had to tap his shoulder. He never seemed bothered by anything. Yet here he was tears in his eyes, and playing his heart out on the piano. Lloyd opened the door and walked inside and closed the door behind him so no one else bothered them. He for some reason felt this boy just wanted to play forever.

Lloyd looked at the boy playing, their was no sheet music, not headphones. They were broken on the floor near his discarded book bag. He wondered if thats what bothered him. Maybe he broke his headphones?

"Cole?" He called out trying to get his attention. Cole continued to play, perhaps he didn't hear him. Lloyd walked over to the boy whose tears just kept coming. His eyes were closed, and he kept tapping at the keys. He wondered how long he had been playing. His fingers were red and it looked as if they might have been bleeding at some point. Lloyd reached over and tapped his elbow. Cole yelped out of fright and fell back in his seat. He was panting now, his eyes locked on Lloyds. They were so afraid, and still the tears fell. When he realized who it was his face screwed up again and he started to cry. He reached over and put his arm over his eyes trying to hide the fact that he was crying. Lloyd sat down on the floor and reached over taking his hand. He wasn't altogether sure why he did this. All he knew was there was a kid laying on his back, hiding behind his arm, and he wasn't to sure why he was crying. He just let him, because he looked like he needed to.

Lloyd wasn't to sure how long they were sitting there in the room, but he was sure he missed the beginning of one of his classes. He didn't care, and he was sure that the teacher was happy about it too. Cole finally sat up and ran his arm over his eyes once more. Lloyd just sat there waiting patiently. His hand still in Coles. Cole just seemed to cling to it. Lloyd was sure Cole knew who he was, yet he still held his hand.

"Are you okay Cole?" Lloyd asked him. Cole just turned and smiled sniffling still.

"I'm okay now." Cole said his large brown eyes looking into his green ones.

"Did you break your headphones? Is that why?" Lloyd asked. Oh the innocents of a six year old. Cole looked down at the hand in his and wiggled it a little to show he appreciated it. He stood up and let go.

"No." Cole said picking up his book bag and pulled a picture out. He held it out to Lloyd. "Today is the day I lost my mom last year." Oh yeah thats right. He was called to the office, everyone heard him scream from the classroom. Lloyd remembered seeing him on his knees holding his head in his hands crying as his father stood over him. She apparently died in a car accident going to work.

"I remember that day." Lloyd said handing the picture back.

"That was her favorite song. She made it herself, and she taught me. I tried to play it at home, but the piano there needs to be tuned. Dad won't touch it because its moms. He wants it to stay the way she left it. I understand. But he...pretends it never happened in the first place. He just keeps up with his singing with his quartet and...doesn't do anything else. He wants me to follow in his footsteps. Why do I want to be like that?" Cole said looking up at Lloyd who nodded his head understanding perfectly what he meant.

"I yeah...I don't want to be like my dad either." Lloyd said. "Everyone else just assumes I'm going to though." He said and shrugged his shoulders.

Cole nodded his head and picked up his broken headphones.

"I broke them...against Ms. Perrys white board." He said looking down at them pitifully.

"But you never lose your temper. You've always seemed so calm to me."

"Everyone has their breaking point dude." Cole said shoving them into the trash can. He looked around at Lloyd and smiled at him. "Thanks for being here. I came in here to be alone, and didn't realize I needed a friend." Cole said and jumped hearing the bell ring. It was the last period of the day.

"Come on. I'll introduce you to Kai."

"Kai? That boy thats always yelling 'fight me' to the cheer squad? I think one peed themselves yesterday because he got to close." Cole said looking a little iffy about this meeting.

"Yeah he's a little over zealous on occasions but he means well." Lloyd said letting out an iffy chuckle.

"You need someone like him. People are to mean to you." Cole said walking into the last class with Lloyd. Kai was in the back, he spotted Lloyd and waved his arms.

"Lloyd! I snagged us a seat." This was a seat yourself class mostly because the teacher couldn't see very far so never could tell if the students were sitting in the right spot.

"Get a third one. We got a new friend." Lloyd yelled and pointed to Cole. Kai gave him a thumbs up.

"Friend?" Cole asked. Lloyd smiled at him.

"Well yeah. Everyone needs a friend right?" Lloyd asked. Cole found his whole music listening world, even though it was incredibly rocky upon going into the dance class...on the day of his mothers death anniversary. He felt his life change for the better. He felt the silence in his head begin to blossom into the most beautiful noises.


	3. Zane and Echo

**_Authors Notes: One more to go. Still haven't figured out how Jay and Lloyd meet. I got an entire day to figure it out._**

* * *

 ** _Before They were Ninja_**

 ** _One Shot 3_**

 ** _Zane and Echo_**

This was one of those rare Saturdays where Lloyds friends weren't around to play with him. Kai and Nya were sick so they were to stay within the Monastery was. Cole was with his father at his weekend retreat with the others from his Quartet. Apparently for a play date among their kids. He of course wasn't invited because of who he was. So here he was at the park as always. The air was hot but the wind was cold, but the flowers were blooming with the first signs of spring. Lloyd was 8 years old now and was doing awesome socially when his friends were around. No one really bothered him to much luckily thanks to Kai. Even Cole glared at a few people if it got to the point where Lloyd pulled up his hood. He knew his feelings were hurt at those moments.

He heard a mechanical laugh. He looked up to see two boys one shorter then the other. Ones hair was cut high and it hada bright white color to it. The other boy with dirty blonde hair had messy cropped hair. Both of which were wearing all white. Lloyd watched them bending over looking at something. His curiosity got the better of him and he had to see what they were looking at. He quietly walked over and looked over their shoulders.

Lloyd looked surprised and smiled. It was a butterfly coming out of its cocoon.

"Wow…" Lloyd let slip. The boy with the white hair pulled his brother to him and they both back peddled away from him. Lloyd however was used to this sort of treatment. His smile quickly disappeared and he pulled his hood up over his head. "Sorry. I'll...I'll just go back over there and sit down. I didn't mean to b…" Thats when he realized the differences. They..weren't human. Lloyd stared at them for a moment and then looked at the younger boy who clung to the older boy. Or at least he assumed he was older. With them not being human perhaps the other was older?

"I...beg your pardon but...we are not used to be outside." The boy with white hair said. "This is our first outing." His voice was very mechanical sounding.

"No its fine. I...well I thought you."

"You thought we were human." The smaller boy said. He was also a little skinnier if possible. They were both lanky. Their fingers had pieces missing, and their was a panel on the older ones arm missing too. A few wires stuck out.

"Yeah…" Lloyd breathed and shook his head free of the proverbial cobwebs.

"I am Zane, and this is my younger brother Echo." Zane waved at him. He did this so fast Lloyd couldn't really see his fingers at all. Echo stayed glued to his brothers hip. "Echo? Will you not say hi?" Zane asked and smiled at his brother. He seemed incredibly shy compared to his older brighter sibling.

"Hi." His voice was low almost as if he were ready to run at any moment.

"I'm Lloyd." Lloyd said to Echo. They both had the same face technically only one had ice blue eyes and the other had golden eyes.

"Oh goodness. You've been spotted." A man in a white lab coat walked over to them. Echo looked up and smiled practically dancing over to him.

"We were making friends." He said.

"I see that. Thank you." The man was tall and lanky just like they were. His hair was white, and his skin was wrinkly.

"Father look." Zane pointed to the butterfly who was now all the way out of the cocoon. "It does not fly. Is it malfunctioning?" Zane asked.

"Its wings are still very wet. Butterflies can't fly if their wings are still wet. But give it time, it'll fly." Lloyd said. Zane smile grew larger and looked back at butterfly.

Lloyd watched Echo under the mans arm watching with a huge smile on his face. He looked up at the man and smiled to himself. He treated them like children.

"Aren't you...Lord Garmadons boy?" The man asked fitting his hands into his labcoat pockets.

"Yeah...sorry. I...I'll go away now." Lloyd said and turned away.

"Whatever for? Stay, watch the butterfly with us. Theirs no harm in that." The man said smiling at him. Lloyd looked amazed at him.

"Wasn't it Lord Garmadon that destroyed the lab?" Zane asked. Lloyd looked at Zane and blushed brightly.

"Yes it was." The man said and smiled at Lloyd who still looked like he was going to run at any minute. "If it weren't for his actions these two wouldn't have been able to come stay with me, and I couldn't have been able to care for them properly. They were talking about disposing of them. If it weren't for Garmadon...they would still think these two were alive." The man put his finger to his lips. Lloyd smiled and nodded his head and looked at them.

"Sorry to ask, but who are you?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh no no I should have said something. I'm Dr. Archibald Julien. Archie or Dr. Julien if you prefer." He said and jumped when his phone rang. "How about we go inside and have some tea?"

"Yes please come home with us. We can be friends." Zane said taking Lloyd by the hand and steered him toward the house. Echo smiled and nodded to him.

"Okay."

Once inside Lloyd could tell Dr. Julien was a bit of a slob. Their were boxes with parts inside. Others were full of papers, some of them even had stuffed animals in. Their was a large box with marker drawings as if it were a house. Their were toys all around that box.

"Are you allergic to peanuts?" Dr. Julien asked holding out some cookies.

"No sir." Lloyd said and took a cookie.

"Good those are peanut butter. Zanes favorite. He baked them himself. He's really good at it." Zane waited patiently to hear the feedback about his cooking. Lloyd took a bite and gasped.

"These are great. How did you even learn how to cook this good?"

"Books, television, and some things another doctor taught me." Zane said and Echo walked in holding a pot of tea.

"Now Echo loves adventuring with tea."

"Each cup is different." Echo said and poured the tea. "I'm still trying to figure out the best amount for the mix." Echo said and jumped when Dr. Juliens phone went off again.

"Blasted professors. I'm not telling them what your power source is. I lost the materials in the attack." He sighed and answered the phone. "No I don't know…" Dr. Julien sighed and nodded. "I apologies I can not help you. I gave up on that project when my sons died." Julien hung up the phone and winked at Lloyd. "A bit of acting." He said

"Father? They won't...come after you will they?" Zane asked. Echo dropped his tea cup and looked up at his father.

"No no...I don't think so." He said and looked round at Lloyd. "When their new older bodies are ready...they can go outside more and just be normal every day children."

"Even go to school." Zane said. Echo nodded his head.

"If you don't mind me asking Lloyd. What school do you go to? Perhaps it would be best if Zane went to a school that at least he had one friend in." He said.

"Ninjago Elementary school. Its right up the road here." Lloyd said and smiled and felt his own phone go off. He looked at it and looked up at Dr. Julien.

"Its my mom. She wants me home now." He said and sighed. "Here…" He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the table next to them and wrote something on it.

"This is my phone number. If you want to talk to me you can use it." He smiled at the boys. "Friends now right?" Lloyd asked. Zanes eyes became brighter then before and he nodded his head pretty hard.

"Don't do that to hard Zane or your head will fall off again." Echo snickered. Lloyd looked amazed.

"Really?" Lloyd said taking hold of Zanes head to get him to stop.

"Alright Lloyd...I'm sure they'll see you soon at school." Dr. Julien said walking Lloyd to the door.

* * *

 **three weeks later**

No word from Zane or Echo since he left that house, and when he came back to the house it had been burned to the ground. He honestly thought Zane and Echo had died that night. He had told Kai and Cole about the robotic boys, but they didn't believe him, told him he was probably dreaming it. Lloyd began to believe them and slowly gave up on any chance of ever seeing them again.

The door opened and the office secretary walked in. The teacher stopped droning on and on about water and the things it did. She came back over and motioned for everyone to pay attention.

"Alright students we have a new student today. Meet…"

"Zane!" Lloyd ran from the back of the classroom and hugged the robot to him.

"Oh hello Lloyd. How are you this fine morning?" He asked. His smile disappeared when he realized Lloyd had started to cry. "Lloyd are you well? Shall I take you to the nurse?" To Lloyd he did look different in this new body, he looked like a regular human now.

"I thought you died in the fire." Lloyd said clinging to him. The kindness on Zanes face showed Lloyd just how much more human Zane was from a lot of people he met.

"We are fine." He told him running his hand over Lloyds hair as his father did to him and his brother when they were hurting.

"Dude is that a robot!"

"No I am your normal everyday child." Zane offered with a smile.


	4. Jay

_Authors Notes: Thats it. How they all met. I know Jays meeting wasn't well thought out, I just couldn't figure out how to get Lloyd to the junk yard. I think I might do a bit of a short story about Zane and Echos lives behind the ninja. Being the sons of a scientist like Dr. Julien. If you haven't guessed it the ones after him are the skelebone clan._

* * *

 _Before They Were Ninja_

 _Chapter 4_

 _Kids_

The air was still hot and muggy from the summer sun beating down on them. Yet summer was almost ending and Lloyd knew school would be starting all over again. This would be Nya's first year of school. To Master Wu's amazement she was actually pretty smart for her age. So when she took an entry test she was moved up two full grades into their class. This remarkably happened to another student he hadn't met. Some kid with messy brown hair that sat quietly off to the side of the room. He would sometimes look up shyly and look back down at the book on his desk. Now that all the tests were over and Lloyd got her school list it was off to the store to get her stuff.

Nya had hold of a shopping basket while Lloyd went through the aisles with her at his elbow.

"Pink or purple?" Lloyd asked. Nya stuck her tongue out. "Okay no pink or purple." He said and smiled when she reached for a bright blue backpack. Although just as soon as she did another small hand did the same. She gasped when their hand grazed each other. She pulled her hand back and looked at the boy from the entry exams.

"Sorry." He said and blushed. Nya giggled and picked up the light blue backpack and he decided on a darker blue.

"You like blue?" He asked her. She nodded and put her hand back in Lloyds. The boy looked up at Lloyd and gasped.

"You're Lloyd Garmadon…Are you two...related?" He asked.

"Sort of." Lloyd said and grabbed a pack of pencils and put them into the basket. "Her older brother lives with my Uncle and he's raising them." Lloyd said.

"Where are your parents?" He asked. Nya blushed and looked up at Lloyd.

"Gone…" Lloyd said. The boy blushed and looked down.

"Mine too." He said Lloyd kneeled down and smiled at him.

"But you have new parents right? Those two I seen with you?" As if on que up walked two people he had seen him with.

"Well look at that Ed. Jay's making friends already."

"I see Edna." Ed said and took the backpack from Jay and put it into the cart. Apparently they went off to grab a few groceries while Jay looked over the school things.

"Mom…" He grumbled

"Oh we're just embarrassing him dear. Lets j…" Ed started and then squinted at Lloyd and then looked at Jay.

"I...I guess we'll just go...back to shopping then." Lloyd was always used to that look. The look people give him when they realize who he is and then get mad that he was talking to their kids.

"Hey Jay isn't this one of those characters from that show you watch?" Ed asked reaching past Lloyd as if not hearing a word he had said. Jay looked at it and smiled and nodded. Ed put the folder into the cart and smiled at him roughling his already ridiculously roughed up hair.

"You watch that show too?" Nya asked bouncing on the balls of her feet. Lloyd smiled down at Nya. Looks like she found a good friend.

"What grade are you going to be in Lloyd?" He cringed at the fact that they knew his name, but the fact that they didn't cringe away from him, or walked off reminded him greatly of Dr. Julien.

"Same as Nya and...what is your name anyways? I'm afraid we haven't introduced each other."

"Oh dear that is right isn't it? I'm Edna, and this is Ed. We own a junkyard just outside of Ninjago City. This is Jay."

"I'm Lloyd and this is Nya."

"Nya…" Jay tested the name and smiled at her. She blushed and looked at her shoes.

"Well we had better get back to shopping we're still due back in time for the rush." Its summer and theirs a big demand for motorcycle parts." Ed said and ushered Jay through the aisles quicker. Lloyd took his time not really minding being their to help Nya at all. Kai was grounded for almost burning down the linen closet because he got angry.

He spotted Jay looking sideways at Nya with a big blush on his face.

"I think the kid has a crush on you Nya." Lloyd said to Nya. Nya put her hair behind her ear and looked at Jay one last time before he left the aisle completely.

"Yeah…" She said in response.

* * *

Nya was incredibly excited as she walked through the school. Her brother beside her, his hand in hers. A lot of strange looks and questions as to why their was a little kid on this side of the hallway. Also what was she doing with Kai. Kai walked her up to the locker and showed her how to open it. She smiled and put a few of her things inside and taped a few pictures to the inside of the door. She giggled and closed the door.

"Greetings Nya." Zane said having walked up with Lloyd.

"Zane!" She ran forward and ran around him. He was very used to having an over zealous sibling so just smiled and holding his hand out so his hand trailed over the top of her head.

"Nya no running in the halls." Cole said and chuckled seeing her pout. "It is for safety reasons. She stopped and gasped when she saw the boy she met at the store.

"Jay!" She ran forward and ran around him. "Come on I want you to meet my friends and brother." She tugged on his arm. He gave a yelp as he was dragged to the center of the group. Everyone of them stared at him. His looked up at the older kids and blushed bright red.

"So this is the kid Nya won't shut up about." Kai said smiling at him. "I'm Kai. Nya's my little sister." Kai said and clapped the kid on the back.

"I'm Cole." Cole yelled. Jay cringed smiling after Lloyd pulled the headphones back.

"Volume Cole…"

"Oh…" He laughed leaning back against the locker bobbing his head in time to the music he could still hear from his headphones on his shoulder.

"I am Zane." Zane said shaking Jays hand a little harder then he was supposed to. "I'm just an ordinary boy." He said. Jay highly doubted that from the feel of his hand.

"Your an...android." He whispered. Zane gasped and looked at Lloyd. His smile quickly disappeared.

"I um…" Every time someone said it right straight to his face. Zane always seemed to get a little iffy or scared. "Lloyd?" Zane looked at him.

"Its okay Zane...I won't tell anyone. I just know mechanics really well. Your hand...although feels very human, their are breaks in the exoskeletal structure that tells me you aren't human. It'll be hard for anyone else to figure it out."

"So thats why he's moved up a grade...he talks like Nya." Kai grumbled having not understood any of what was being said. Zanes smile returned, but it wasn't as big. He was very scared, even though he swears he has no feelings. Lloyd can tell he does, although they weren't as developed as Echos.

* * *

Lunch was a quiet affair as it normally was. They found themselves on the field eating their respected lunches. Lloyd had his usual lunch, a ham sandwich with cheese, a bag of chips in his lap. Nya and Kai had a bento the Master Wu had made for them although Nya had started to help him in the kitchen since Kai gets a little to fire happy. Zane drank from a thermos. He tells everyone its a protein shake he and his brother have to drink. The group knew it was oil, and a few other vitamins they required for their systems to stay powered properly. Echo sat next to him rather miffed that he couldn't eat like other others could, but didn't voice such out loud for obvious reasons. Lloyd quickly realized that they were still hiding from the people trying to get hold of them, so had to keep up the facade that they were humans. But Dr. Julien wanted them to be kids and go to school. They wanted to live a normal life.

Jay picked up his tuna sandwich and began to eat it, he looked around at Cole who just leaned back against the tree.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Cole eats his lunch in between classes." Nya told him. Cole smiled down at Jay winked at him. Jay blushed and went back to eating his sandwich.

"Hey look who it is Garmadork!" Nya rolled her eyes as the cheer squad went by.

"Looks like theirs a few new dorks in his squad." One of the girls giggled and kneeled down in front of Jay and Nya. "You do realize if you hang out with Lloyd Garmadon you'll be made fun of." Nya hid behind Jay. Jay stood taller and glared at them.

"Leave Nya alone." His unsure words were very shaky, but his eyes were what held daggers.

"Or what junky?"

"Or you can fight me!" Kai ran around the kids. "Thats my sister you jerks! I won't let you talk to her that way!" The cheer squad as usual being chased off by Kai.

"So thats your brother?" Jay asked Nya who nodded her head.

"You were brave Jay." She said.

"They were being mean to us...to you." Jay turned and looked at her. Nya turned to make sure her brother wasn't looking. She leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going back to her Bento. Jay touched the spot and looked around at Nya. he was just a kind gesture...a mark of appreciation...right? He seemed to melt back down onto the grass.

"Okay what did I miss?" Kai came back over and skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Your sister just kissed Jay." Zane said. Kai's face went from hyper to anger really fast.

"Jay!"


End file.
